BY TAIWO ADELU
Salt is a chemical mixture (electrolyte) consisting of sodium and chloride. It is often used to preserve and flavour foods and is the main source of sodium in our diets. Low sodium intake is important for health because it helps maintain the appropriate amount of blood and tissue in the body. People all over the world have used salt since ancient times, and it is found in many cuisines today.
It is as important as salt in our daily lives, so if you do not take less than the recommended amount, it will be lethal.
Research shows that although there are many short-term effects you need to consider, there are also long-term effects of eating too much salt. Heart muscle enlargement can increase the risk of headaches, heart failure, high blood pressure, kidney disease, kidney stones, osteoporosis, stomach cancer and stroke.
Serious negative effects occur if consumers consume high amounts of salt for a long time.
Increased sodium levels in the blood reduce the kidneys’ ability to excrete water, increasing blood volume and putting pressure on blood vessels. High blood pressure can eventually lead to strokes and congestive heart failure. Since the kidneys have to constantly work overtime to excrete excess salt, they may suffer from kidney disease.
Consuming too much salt for a long time can also cause water accumulation in the body’s tissues and organs. Additionally, a diet high in sodium may cause the body to excrete less calcium, which can ultimately lead to osteoporosis.
Nigeria currently records an average daily salt intake of between 2.8 and 10 grams per day; This is twice the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended daily limit of 5 grams. Therefore, WHO stated that salt reduction is a public health measure that can reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases, as well as health and economic impacts.
It was on this background that the Corporate Accountability & Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) with facilitating support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) held a one-day Journalism Training on Salt and its role in NCDs and Industry Monitoring on Thursday, 4 April 2024 at Leola Hotel 1, Maryland, Lagos State.
The training took the participating journalists on the Dangers of High Salt Intake and its Public Health Consequences, the Need to Set Mandatory Salt Regulations for Processed Foods, and Industry Monitoring. The training was the beginning of a long-haul campaign to educate and sensitise Nigerians across all social divides on the need to watch out for their daily intake of salt.
Bukola Olukemi Odele, a Food and Nutrition Scientist, opened the floor on the series of discussions that took place during the training. Odele, who works at CAPPA as the Program Officer for Cardiovascular Health (CHV) gave an overview of Nigeria’s salt reduction campaign.
According to her, the WHO has confirmed NCDs as the primary causes of death and disability globally, and it account for an estimated 29% of all deaths in Nigeria.
“Approximately, two million deaths each year are linked to a high salt diet. Salt reduction is a crucial step in lowering NCD deaths and improving cardiovascular health,” Odele said.
Far above the recommendation of the WHO, she revealed that Nigeria records an average daily salt consumption ranging between 2.8g to 10g per day, adding that high sodium consumption (>2g/day, equivalent to 5g of salt per day) contributes to high blood pressure and increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease.
“I want to say that reducing sodium intake significantly reduces blood pressure in adults. Salt reduction is a cost-effective public health intervention that adopts a multi-sectoral approach to tackle the NCD burden,” she said.
She noted that WHO in its global action for salt reduction advocates for the formulation of sodium-related policies and practical actions that should be implemented to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease.
Odele enjoined the Nigerian media to help push the advocacy on salt reduction to the grassroots and to all the nooks and crannies of the country by making salt reduction a priority issue on the public agenda, increasing awareness about the public health and economic consequences of high salt intake, educate the public on practical ways to reduce salt consumption, deliberately use data and information received from collaborators to shape public opinion about salt reduction, convey strategic and well-tailored reportage to advocate for mandatory salt regulation for processed and packaged foods, create a climate of opinion based on facts to counter industry tactics and discredit misleading information from its allies and maintain a standpoint that promotes the public health benefit of salt reduction over personal gain or industry profit
Dr. Jerome Mafeni, Technical Advisor at NHED, speaking on Salt Consumption in Nigeria, the Need for Policy Intervention revealed that key salt reduction measures will generate an extra year of healthy life for a cost that falls below the average annual income or gross domestic product per person while reducing salt intake to less than 5 grams per day (about 1 teaspoon) will save around 2.5m lives every year.
Dr Mafeni said that while the WHO in 2013 agreed to nine global voluntary targets for the prevention and control of NCDs, which includes a 30% relative reduction in the intake of salt by the Year, 2025, the global health body also developed a SHAKE technical package in 2016 to assist member states with the development, implementation and monitoring of salt reduction strategies, Nigeria is still far from getting nearer the target as estimated salt intake in Nigeria is still as high as 5.8 g/day higher than the WHO recommended maximum level. There has been a rapid transition from infectious diseases to increasingly non-communicable diseases with the overall age-standardized prevalence of hypertension in Nigeria is 38.1%.
On a sad note, the country recorded an estimated over 100,000 deaths from Cardiovascular Diseases in 2017. The figures might have been on the increase by today.
Dr Mafeni, however, proposed some policy strategies to help reduce salt intake among Nigerians. These include setting salt targets by developing mandatory salt reduction targets for food manufacturers and food service industries. Education and Awareness Campaign by utilising the mass media, and social media to educate the general population about the risk of excessive salt. Food Labelling Regulations to advocate mandatory clear and standard labelling on the sodium content of packaged foods and Regulation Advocacy to give mandatory salt reduction regulation that will facilitate salt reduction efforts.
“By implementing mandatory salt reduction targets, we not only address the immediate health risks associated with high sodium consumption but also pave the way for long-term benefits in reducing the burden of cardiovascular and other diseases.
“We can work together to combat excessive salt consumption in Nigeria, improve public health outcomes, and create a healthier future for all Nigerians. Together, let’s make salt reduction a priority and take meaningful steps towards achieving our goals,” Dr Mafeni said.
Vanessa Alfa of the University of Abuja Cardiovascular Research Unit in her presentation on Nigeria Sodium Study Findings, a research work on Nigerian Sodium/Salt consumption patterns and Nigerian Perspectives on Salt revealed reasons Nigerians consume more of salt in their foods.
According to her, many Nigerians lack the knowledge of the risk of the amount of salt in food, adding that while many people were aware that excess salt consumption is a problem in Nigeria, unhealthy diets have led to an increase in the incidence and prevalence of hypertension and other non-communicable diseases. Many Nigerians are not aware of the negative health effects of excess salt consumption, even as there is a lack of knowledge of a general standard measure of salt during cooking.
The finding also reveals that many Nigerians are accustomed to a particular taste, which is difficult to change, while many people, especially those in rural areas, do not differentiate between healthy diets and eating food because of food insecurity. To some people, excess salt enhances food taste.
“Salt is a very inexpensive flavour enhancer and is used to replace flavour that could have been otherwise gotten from the more expensive herbs and vegetables. Urbanization, globalization, and changes in work dynamics have reduced consumption of home-cooked meals and have increased consumption of out-of-home cooked foods, especially ultra-processed foods,” she said.
Alfa in her conclusion said that to drive home the campaign against high intake of salt among Nigerians, there is a need to improve knowledge of what to do and what not to do in the daily usage of salt, while a multi-sectoral collaboration and engagement with strong government leadership, regulatory processes, and accountability mechanisms will go a long way in putting Nigeria in the right path of achieving global target on salt reduction
The training facilitated by veteran journalists and experts reinforced the crucial and indispensable role of the media in shaping perspectives and amplifying the need for policy intervention to stem a public health disaster instigated by high salt consumption and the benefits of mandatory salt regulation.
